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115th Congress Motions to Recommit

January 10, 2017

Report

What is a Motion to Recommit with Instructions? The motion to recommit with instructions provides one final chance to amend a bill before it is passed by the full House of Representatives. The Rules of the 112th and 113th Congress provide for a motion to recommit with instructions “forthwith,” meaning the House must immediately vote on the bill, as amended, if the motion to recommit is adopted.

Does a Motion to Recommit with Instructions Kill the Bill? The answer is no. Under Republican control in the 112th and 113th Congress, the Rules of the House were adopted on January 3, 2013 by a vote of 228-196 (Roll Call #6, First Session). Those Rules state that a motion to recommit with instructions is NOT sent back to committee. If the recommit is adopted, the bill is voted on by the full House immediately.

In the official Rules of the House of Representatives in the 113th Congress, Rule XIX 2(b)(2) states: “A motion to recommit a bill or joint resolution may include instructions only in the form of a direction to report an amendment or amendments back to the House forthwith.” In the House Rules and Manual, the Parliamentarians, who are the official referees of all legislative activity on the House floor, state clearly on page 806: “If the House adopts a motion to recommit with instructions that the committee report ‘forthwith,’ the chair reports at once without awaiting action by the committee, the bill is before the House for immediate consideration …”

The official ruling of the Chair, under a Republican Speaker pro temp, confirmed this interpretation on four separate occasions in the 112th and on another occasion during the 113th Congress, which can be viewed at the links below:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2018/roll176.xmlH.R. 56455/9/18Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add protections for consumers by ensuring that the underlying bill would not apply to mergers that would unreasonably increase the costs of pharmaceutical drugs..pdf193-220

Bill

Date

Motion to Recommit (MTR)

Text

Vote

H.R. 4606

9/6/18

Would amend the underlying bill to prevent pipelines constructed, operated, or maintained on land or properties acquired through eminent domain from being used to import or export liquefied natural gas.

Would amend the underlying bill to add veteran status to the list of borrower information that will be disaggregated alongside race, ethnicity, gender, income and status as an individual with a disability when the Department of Education conducts the required study on the effectiveness of student loan counseling.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would prevent the tax cuts provided for in the underlying bill from going into effect until the annual reports of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund indicate that all reduced solvency in the Medicare trust fund caused by H.R. 1, the GOP Tax Bill, has been restored.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would increase funding for the Election Assistance Commission by $380,000,000 to match FY18 levels in order to help state and local election officials upgrade outdated election technology, address vulnerabilities in voting and registration infrastructure, and prevent future intrusions by Russia and other foreign and domestic entities determined to undermine the integrity of the U.S. election system. The Motion to Recommit restores that funding to the bill by reducing the hypocritical “Fund for America’s Kids and Grandkids.”

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would ensure that nothing in the underlying legislation would apply to regulations that: (1) protect students and children from a person who has been convicted of a sex offense against a minor; (2) prevent domestic violence; (3) prevent rape or sexual assault; or (4) require criminal background checks for schools or other employment.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to prevent conflicts of interest by prohibiting the Secretary of the Interior from relinquishing ownership of an eligible facility to a qualifying entity if such entity employed the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of the Interior as a federally registered lobbyist within the past 3 years.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to allow the Secretary of Commerce or relevant State Governor to declare a fishery disaster if there are any negative impacts from unilateral tariffs imposed by any countries on U.S. seafood exports or other materials necessary for the economic viability of the U.S. fishing industry.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to increase the Defense Health Program by $25 million to provide additional funds to research post-traumatic stress disorder, offset by reductions to the Defense-Wide Operation and Maintenance Account by the same amount.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to prevent any officer or employee of the United States from detaining an immigrant who entered the country with their child who is under 18 years of age separately from their child in order to deter immigration.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to increase the number of Medicare-funded physician residency slots for hospitals that have developed or are in the process of developing training programs to provide addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry, or pain medicine in order to build an adequate workforce to deliver comprehensive substance use disorder treatment. Further, the Motion to Recommit provides approximately $1 billion more to ensure a sustained effort to combat the opioid epidemic, and protects insurance coverage for those seeking treatment for substance use disorders. These policies are offset by the inclusion of the CREATES Act, which lowers drug prices by expediting the process by which more affordable generic drugs come to market.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would strike the text in the underlying bill and replace it with the text of Rep. Roybal-Allard’s bill H.R. 3440 – Dream Act of 2017. H.R. 3440 is a bipartisan bill that would permanently protect DREAMers with a pathway to citizenship and allow them to remain here and work legally, so that they can continue contributing to the nation they have called home since childhood.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop model training programs to educate providers on the appropriate handling of substance abuse disorder (SUD) treatment records, and related privacy protections. It would also create training programs to educate patients and families on their rights pertaining to the privacy of patient SUD records, and require a report on the experience of patients treated for SUD under “Part 2” (current law).

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to provide federal matching funds to qualifying states to provide addiction treatment and other medically necessary services in qualified institutions for mental diseases for eligible individuals suffering from any form of substance use disorder. To qualify for the matching funds, states would be required to extend Medicaid eligibility to all individuals with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, as provided for under the Affordable Care Act

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would increase the Veterans Health Administration’s Medical Services Account by $10,000,000 in order to provide additional funds for community care, aid to state veteran homes, loan repayment, and caregivers assistance, offset by a reduction in the Departmental Administration’s General Administration Account.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to direct the Secretary of the Army to take all necessary actions to restore and increase the resiliency of public infrastructure damaged by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, or Maria in the continental U.S., the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue guidance describing how the agency will use expanded access outcomes when considering and evaluating investigational products for full approval. Additionally, the Motion to Recommit provides liability protection to manufacturers, physicians, and hospitals offering a product under expanded access, as long as the entity is in compliance with current federal law, and it also increases transparency in the FDA’s expanded access program.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would strike the SNAP child support enforcement provision that perversely spends more than $2 for every $1 in savings while taking away $3.8 billion in SNAP benefits from hungry families. By striking the provision, the amendment restores these vital SNAP benefits and eliminates wasteful administrative spending. It invests the remaining savings in 1) opioid addiction and treatment services and rural mental health services; 2) broadband connectivity to help rural communities compete in the modern economy; 3) increased export marketing to offset the uncertainty caused by the Administration’s trade policies; 4) support for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program to develop the next generation of producers; 5) scholarships at 1890 Institutions; and 6) research on organics and specialty crops.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would require the federal government to cover 100% of the costs for natural disasters in connection with Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the California Wildfires under the Stafford Act. It would affect the States of Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, California, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would clarify that nothing in the underlying bill shall prohibit the sale of electric power generated by the Federal Columbia River Power System at the lowest possible rate consistent with sound business practices as required by current law.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an amendment to the underlying bill to require stronger semi-annual stress tests for any global systemically important bank holding company or subsidiary that has engaged in a pattern of unsafe banking practices or any other violations related to consumer harm.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue guidance describing how the agency will use expanded access outcomes when considering and evaluating investigational products for full approval. Additionally, the Motion to Recommit provides liability protection to manufacturers, physicians, and hospitals offering a product under expanded access, as long as the entity is in compliance with current federal law, and it also increases transparency in the FDA’s expanded access program.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would strike the provision in the underlying bill that calls for a 50% increase in the offering limit to Regulation A+. Additionally, the motion to recommit would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to review and revise regulations, including the bad actor provisions, as necessary to protect investors prior to increasing the aggregate offering limit.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to prevent any change in federal financial regulations if that tailoring is done at the request of and for the personal financial gain of the President, an immediate family member of the President, or senior Executive Branch officials who are required to file annual financial disclosure forms.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to prevent any change in federal financial regulations if that action is at the request of and for the personal financial gain of the President, an immediate family member of the President, or Executive Branch officials who are required to file annual financial disclosure forms.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill for any global systemically important bank holding company or subsidiary that has engaged in a pattern of unsafe banking practices or any other violations related to consumer harm in the past 10 years.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an amendment to underlying bill that extends the current policy requiring executive officer incentive-based compensation be clawed-back in a case where the issuer is required to prepare an accounting restatement due to noncompliance with any reporting requirements under securities laws, regardless of whether or not the officer was party to the action.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to require the President and C.E.O. of a depository lending institution to first attest they are not participating in discriminatory lending practices and that they provide equal opportunities for minorities and women in the institution’s workplace prior to benefiting from the relief provided for in the underlying bill.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would oppose eliminating the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and also oppose eliminating the current tax deduction for state and local property, income, and sales taxes.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to require the Secretary to additionally certify that no financial institution participating in a transaction involving the sale of an aircraft to Iran is engaged in business with a foreign entity that has been found by the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, to have engaged in or authorized cyber-attacks targeting any election held in the United States.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would prohibit the underlying bill from applying to any vehicle financial company that is engaging in or has engaged in a pattern or practice of unsafe banking practices or has committed any other violations related to consumer harm.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would prohibit any creditor or servicer that has engaged in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or has been convicted of fraud in connection with a residential mortgage loan from being eligible for the exemptions provided for in the underlying bill.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to prohibit a person who has been convicted of a violent crime within the preceding three years from possessing or carrying a concealed handgun in a state where that conviction would otherwise prohibit that individual from doing so.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would ensure that the underlying legislation does not benefit lenders or individuals that have engaged in unfair, deceptive, predatory, or abusive lending practices, or have been convicted of mortgage fraud.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would delay implementation of the underlying bill until both the Administrator and Inspector General of the Federal Emergency Management Agency have certified that a final resolution has been reached on all claims for losses resulting from Hurricane Sandy, which hit in 2012.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to invest in children and safety net providers, and provide urgently needed Medicaid funding for territories devastated by recent hurricanes.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act through 2020 in order to ensure rural communities have adequate funding for education services, conservation projects, and fire prevention programs.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would extend the whistleblower protections in the underlying bill pertaining to employees who disclose information about the improper use of aircraft by government officials.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would increase by $1 billion the amount appropriated to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands so that they can immediately repair damaged infrastructure and provide health care, beyond the tax relief provided in the underlying bill.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would strike the two additional requirements in the underlying bill to allow for a clean reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV).

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would strike the $2.3 billion in total appropriated for President Trump’s border wall and for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to purchase detention beds, and transfers the funds to the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) Federal Assistance Account to provide addition funds for pre-disaster mitigation services so FEMA can prepare for future disasters.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would strike the division of the underlying bill that appropriates $1.6 billion in taxpayer funds to begin construction of President Trump’s border wall along the U.S. – Mexico border.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add a requirement to the underlying bill that all iron and steel products used in construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of the border-crossing facility be produced in the United States.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would prohibit implementation of the underlying bill if the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee finds that application of the underlying bill could increase health risks to vulnerable populations including children, seniors, pregnant women, outdoor workers, and minority and low-income communities.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would prohibit any funds authorized to be appropriated in the underlying bill from being used to plan, develop, or construct any barriers, including walls or fences, along the international border of the United States.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill to allow a victim of sex-trafficking to voluntarily present herself or himself at a port of entry to request protection without fear of violating the law.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill for instances in which the State or a political subdivision of the State certifies to the Attorney General that compliance with the underlying bill would endanger public safety.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would prohibit the underlying bill from applying to the discharge of a pesticide, if the manufacturer or distributor of the pesticide has made a political contribution to the President or any Federal official charged with registration, regulation or approval of the use of the pesticide.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill for any employee who does not receive fewer than seven paid sick days, which can be used to seek medical care for a pre-existing health condition.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would provide an exemption to the underlying bill for any issuer that has withheld information from Congress relevant to the investigation of any collusion between any individual associated with the Russian Government and any individual associated with President Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to prohibit members of the Science Advisory Board from being employed by any corporate entity that has an interest before the Board during that member’s service, and for three years following that member’s service.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would require that notwithstanding any amendment in the underlying bill, the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator must make use of the best available science, whether or not it is made publically available, when responding to any threats to public health, including black lung disease and asthma caused by exposure to pollution or toxic chemicals.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would amend the underlying bill to require plans to provide coverage for substance abuse disorder treatments, including treatments for opioid abuse, as an essential health benefit.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would disqualify any health insurance provider from the relief in the underlying bill if the insurer charges premiums for individuals 55 years of age or older more than three times what they charge individuals 21 years of age or younger.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would exempt veterans, service members, and whistleblowers from the expedited firing procedures as well as extend additional protections for workers who file a whistle blower complaint or retaliation against an employee who files a whistleblower complaint.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill for any civil action brought forward that pertains to the foreign emoluments clause of the United States Constitution in order to protect Americans from interference from foreign governments.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill for any civil action brought forward to protect drinking water supplies in order to prevent another tragedy like the one that occurred in Flint, Michigan.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would include the President of the United States in the underlying bill in order to prevent the President from making public references to a business in which the President has an equity interest.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill for any rules pertaining to laws governing potential conflicts of interest of an employee or officer of the executive branch, financial disclosures of an employee or officer of the executive branch, or bribery.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would prohibit the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from considering the swaps regulatory requirements of a foreign jurisdiction as comparable to United States swaps requirements, if the Director of National Intelligence has found that foreign jurisdiction engaged in cyber-attacks targeting any election in the United States.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would require the Securities Exchange Commission to take into account in its cost-benefit analysis of a proposed regulation the incentives market participants may potentially have to relocate their operations outside of the United States.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill for any rules that prohibit an insurance issuer from eliminating, weakening, or reducing health coverage benefits for dependents under the age of 26.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would add an exemption to the underlying bill for rules that prohibit health insurance issuers from discriminating against individuals based on gender or preexisting conditions, or that prohibit higher premiums or out-of-pocket costs for seniors for prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D.

Democrats’ Motion to Recommit would commit the Republican Rules Package for the 115th Congress to a select committee composed of the Majority Leader and Minority Leader with instructions to report it back to the House with an amendment. The amendment would strike the language that modifies House Rules regarding conduct considered disorderly or disruptive during legislative proceedings. These changes are unprecedented in the House of Representatives and are clearly being enacted in response to the Democrats’ 26-hour sit-in on the House Floor to demand action on bipartisan gun violence prevention legislation. Instead of taking action to address the epidemic of gun violence in this country, House Republicans in a potentially unconstitutional way are silencing democratically elected Members of Congress and preventing them from expressing the views and wishes of their constituents.